One Choice Will Define You
by GlimmerFanatic
Summary: When Ariana's aptitude test results come back with a shocking result, she must choose between remaining with her family in Amity, or what her aptitude test is telling her. This choice will reveal who she truly is. This choice will define her. OC!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first Divergent story so I hope you enjoy! Sorry if it takes me a while to update, school can be stressful sometimes.**

My alarm clock goes off, waking me from a hard sleep. I immediantly feel the lack of sleep get to me. I was awake all night, lying on a tear-soaked pillow, worried about today. Why? Because today is the day when I take my aptitude test, to determine what faction I belong in.

There are 5 factions to choose from. Amity, the peaceful, Dauntless, the brave, Abnegation, the selfless, Erudite, the intelligent, and Candor, the honest. I would like to believe I belong in my born faction, Amity, but being in a different faction would give me a chance to be someone different. Not the fruit-picking, song-singing girl that I get am today. My faction believes in peace, friendship, and kindness. I think thats great and all, but doing the same thing everyday gets boring, I want to take risks and be different. Heck, maybe I could be Dauntless. I silently laugh to myself. I admire the Dauntless, but theres no way I could survive as one. Even though there is a chance I might flip to a new faction, I can't even think about leaving my family. My mom, dad, and my little sister, Brianna.

I get up and quickly run through the shower and change into nice clothes. The Amity dress comfortably in red and yellow clothing. I wear a knee length, bright red, ruffled dress, a yellow sweater, and yellow flats. I keep my flowing blonde hair down, but brush through it smoothly.

I admire myself in the mirror, my light skin and soft brown eyes goes perfectly with my attire. I can probably cross off Abnegation as a possible faction. They can only admire themselves in a mirror for a few seconds, and I'm anything but selfless. Theres no way I can be Candor without being looked down on by my family and whole faction. Candor and Amity have never been on good terms, since they believe that "those who seek peace, will always decieve to keep the waters calm." I wouldn't stand a chance at surviving Dauntless initiation. Being the protectors of the city, they are trained to fight and face their fears, two things I fail at doing. I think the only faction I would switch to is Erudite, who I believe are the most important faction, besides Amity. I have always had a curious mind and a craving for knowledge, just like the Erudite.

I add a floral headband to my hair, and walk to the kitchen to see breakfast already made by my mother, and my little sister already sitting down eating. My mom has the same shining blonde hair and light brown eyes, but her build is more curvy and but more taller than me, while I'm about 5"4 and skinnier than the average sixteen year old. My father works in the Amity fields almost as day, so I won't be able to see him before I leave for the aptitude test.

My mother sits with me at the table while I enjoy my mothers great cooking. She smiles, her bright white teeth gleaming. Her smile has always calmed me, which makes me feel even more guilty about possibly changing factions, knowing that I might not see her smile ever again.

"Nervous?" She asks, one simple word that will describe my whole day. Even though I've never been more nervous, I can't risk telling her that theres a chance that I might not get Amity as a result. Most of the time, your parents are pretty supportive of your decision, which I'm sure my mother will be. But I can't make her feel like I might leave her. I lie, the guilt stabbing me in the gut.

"Not at all." I tell her, trying to sound as calm as possible. From what I can see, she looks pretty convinced, but then again, my mother seems to have learned how to hide her feelings of sadness and replacing them with feelings of kindness, being Amity and all. My mother tells me about the aptitude test, since she has already done it when she was sixteen, telling me that she chose Amity, her born faction.

I finish my breakfast, I give my little sister a hug goodbye, squeezing a little bit to hard for her comfort, like most Amity. Unlike me and my mother, her hair is darker than ours and her eyes are almost black, just like my father. I then give my mom a hug and kiss, and she whispers, "good luck Ariana," in my ear. Her soft soprano voice is another wonderful feature that she has, another feature that I would miss.

I leave our house and head to The Hub, the biggest building in the city in the center of all of the factions sectors. I see other Amity head to that way as well and wonder what results they will get and if they might switch factions at the Choosing Ceremony. I almost arrive to The Hub and think to myself, why can't everyone be peaceful, brave, intelligent, honest, and selfless, then we wouldn't have to choose. But I know its not that simple, I know I have to face the aptitude test, the Choosing Ceremony, and eventually, whatever faction I choose.

**Chapter 2 coming soon. Please R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heres the second chapter! The only reason I updated so quickly is because it's the weekend but during the week I probably won't be able to update as much. Anyways, enjoy!**

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I arrive at the crowded city hall and stand with the other Amity. Every six-teen year old in the city is here today to find out what faction they best belong in. I look at all the other Amity in our section, laughing and hugging about who knows what. I don't have very many friends, so I feel out of place as usual. To my right are the Erudite, all chatting together about books and computers most likely. The Abnegation are to my left, standing quietly and waiting patiently, a sign of respect I guess. The Candor are next to them, probably spilling all of their newest secrets to everyone. At this point, I don't feel like I belong anywhere.

I look around for the Dauntless but don't see them until I hear a train zooming by and remember that Dauntless don't walk long distances, they take the trains. One after another, Dauntless after Dauntless jump off the train, running to join the rest of us. Most people hate that the Dauntless have to make a big entrance, but I admire their bravery.

The line goes by rather quickly, people from each faction going in two at a time, and pretty soon, I'm next in line. After a minute or so, an Abnegation lady meets me at the door and guides me to my room. The lady is middle-aged, her light brown hair has some grey in it, which goes perfect with the grey clothing of the Abnegation. Once in my room, she tells me to sit in a chair in the middle of the room that looks just like a dentist's chair. She attaches electrodes to my head and then grabs a small cup next to her.

"Drink this." She says, and hands me the cup full of blue liquid. "This is the simulation serum that will connect your brain to the program." I'm scared to drink it, but I know I have to. My heart pounds in my chest as I gulp down the blue liquid that tastes suprisingly sweet.

"The simulation will start in a few seconds. Good luck." She tells me, her voice is soothing, which reminds me of my mothers. Before I can think anymore, I can feel the simulation start.

* * *

I stand in the middle of a room, all arround me is mirrors. I look at myself for a moment, and wonder if this is part of the simulation. Maybe this will eliminate Abnegation as a possible faction, since they are not suppossed to look at themselves for more than a few seconds.

I can hear my heart beating from the complete silence. Then all of sudden, I hear a voice, but can't find what it belongs to.

"_Choose_." The voice says, one simple word. I look behind me and see a table with two things on it, a knife and some cheese. I'm suppossed to pick one, but maybe I don't have to. I stare at my options for a few seconds, wondering what to do. Then I hear the voice again, repeating "choose." I need to make a decision. The knife would probably come in handy more than the cheese, unless a huge rat suddenly appeared.

What would the Amity do? I think to myself. The Amity would probably pick the cheese, since a knife is not a sign of peace. But what good would the cheese do? I close my eyes and relax. My instincts kick in and I grab the knife before I know what I'm doing.

I wonder if I'm going to regret this decision later, but before I can think, I hear a loud growling noise coming the other side of the room. I turn around to see a large dog, it's sharp teeth bare in the light. I start to panic, but then realize that the dog doesn't even notice me. It's growling at a little girl, maybe six years old or so, crying for help. The dog starts running after the helpless girl. I quickly run after the girl, pushing her out of the way before the dog can get to her.

Then the weirdest thing happens, the girl dissapears, and all of a sudden, the killer dog transforms into an adorable puppy. I reach down to pet the innocent dog, and as I do the dog transforms back into the monsterous beast and bites my hand. I cry in pain and begin fighting for my hand back. Eventually it lets go, my hand now covered in blood. The dog continues growling at me, and then I realize I'm still grasping the knife with my good hand.

Now I know what the knife is for, but I couldn't possibly kill this dog. I know the Amity wouldn't do it, so why should I? If I kill this dog, the chances of me getting Amity are practically zero, but I know it's either my life or the dogs. I turn my head away from the dog and close my eyes. It's growling intensifies. It jumps at me, but before it can do any damage, the knife is already enlodged in its head.

The dog falls to ground, lifeless. I can't believe what I have done. I want to cry but nothing comes out, so I just close my eyes until this nightmare ends.

* * *

I open my eyes and grasp my hand, but see no blood. I sigh in relief but then remember what I did. I killed a living being. Theres no way I'm going to get Amity as a result of that.

The Abnegation lady stares at me for a second in sorrow, but then takes the electrodes off of my head. She helps me up and gives me a sealed envelope.

"In this envelope is your test results, don't open this until you leave the city hall, and remember, don't tell anyone your results. Save that for the Choosing Ceremony." She guides me out the door and I start to walk home.

* * *

I arrive home and see my mom and dad in the kitchen cooking dinner, a sterio sitting on the table playing music, which is common in Amity. I give my mom and dad a quick hug. "How did it go sweetie?" She looks at me, smiling. I don't know how to answer that, I'm just glad it's over. "Good." I reply.

"Did you get your test results?" My father asks and I show him the envelope. "Oh. I'll give you some time to yourself to look at them." He tells me and with that, they continue cooking.

I walk to my room and sit on my bed, my heart pounding nervously. My palms start to sweat as I grab the envelope and open it carefully. I take out the paper and look at it. It's complicated to read at first, probably formatted by the Erudite. Then I see a section that tells me what percentages I got for each faction. It reads:

0% Candor, thank god, there was no way I would choose Candor anyways. That was never an option for me.

8% Abnegation, I'm suprised I got any Abnegation at all. But that was probably from when I saved the little girl from the dog.

12% Erudite, I wish I had gotten more from Erudite since that's the only other faction I think I would belong in.

My heart drops as I continue reading,

30% Amity, that can only mean one thing...

50% Dauntless

How could I possibly be Dauntless? I am not nearly as brave as them. I can't jump off of trains, I can't fight, and I certainly can not survive Dauntless initiation. All I want to do is cry and go ask my parents for help. But I know I can't because were not suppossed to tell others our results.

Now I have to make a tough decision tomorrow at the Choosing Ceremony all by myself. I have no idea what I'm going to do because according to my aptitude test, I am not honest, intelligent, selfless, or peaceful. _I am brave._

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**Hope you enjoyed it, Please R&R. Chapter 3 coming as soon as possible!**


	3. Chapter 3

**First of all, let me just apologize for not updating in like a month. My internet was down for like 2 weeks and I just haven't really felt the motivation to write (I may have procastinated a bit too). But no matter what, I plan on finishing this story even if it takes me a year! With that said, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

I wake up that morning feeling restless again. I had stayed up all night wondering what I'm going to do at the Choosing Ceremony. Now that day has come and I still have no idea what I'm going to do.

I get out of bed and run through the shower, trying to enioy it as much as possible. Afterwards, I try to decide what to wear. You're suppossed to dress nicely at the Choosing Ceremony, especially Amity. I put on my favorite dress, a yellow sundress with red flats. Amity don't typically wear there hair up, so I decide to just curl it and add one of my red headbands, trying to look as best as possible.

After breakfast, it's time to head to The Hub again for the Ceremony. Unlike the aptitude test, your whole family should be there to support and comfort you as much as possible. Before leaving, my mother and father hug me, trying to comfort me.

"Remember," my mother tells me, "no matter what you choose, I will always love you." My father nods and kisses my forehead. I know they're trying to help me, but there making it harder for me. I still have no idea what to do, but I know I don't want to leave my family. But then again, maybe I am Dauntless, and I just don't know it. I mean, if I wasn't, I wouldn't have gotten Dauntless on my aptitude test. Right?

I give my sister a hug and kiss. She wears a red flowery dress, and looks adorable like always. I feel sorry for her when she turns six-teen.

We head to the Ceremony, and I look back at my house, because it might be the last time I will ever see it.

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We arrive to The Hub, the yearly gathering place for the Choosing Ceremony. Everyone sits in sections, divided by factions. The room is large enough to fit every sixteen year old in the city. Row after row of seats, and a large table in the front of the room, right behind a podium. The table holds 5 bowls, one for each faction. On the edge of the table is a sharp knife, all part of the ceremony. I guess the city leaders take the phrase 'faction before blood' very seriously, since we are expected to cut ourselves.

Each year a different faction hosts the ceremony, and this year, the host is Amity's very own representative, Johanna Reyes. She steps onto the podium, and the crowd stops their conversations and decrescendo's into silence.

"Welcolme," she speaks. "Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony." Her voice is soft and calm, as expected.

Johanna continues talking, and I zone out, still confused about what faction to choose. She reads the faction manifestos from each faction, talks about the "journey" we, the initiates, are about to take, the importance of choosing the right faction, and of course, the history of our society and the five factions.

Thats when the actual ceremony starts. Johanna begins calling out names from each faction in aphabetical order, starting with Abnegation. That means I will be after them.

Many of the born Abnegation stay in their faction, which isn't a suprise. Quite a few of them choose Amity or Erudite and couple choose Candor. I notice that only two switch to Dauntless, two siblings names Leah and Leo. They look very similar, both with fiery orange hair and freckles. The only noticeable difference is the slight height advantage of the brother. After choosing their new faction, they join the Dauntless, who are always excited to have Abnegation tranfers since its so rare. Stiffs- as the Dauntless call them.

After finishing the Abnegation they start calling Amity. Almost all of the Amity stay in their factions, but quite a few switch to Erudite, but one even switched to Dauntless. A boy I recognize from school, and also one of the most popular, named Carter. I have never actually spoken to him before, and I doubt I ever will. We may be from the same faction but we are complete opposites.

I know they are getting closer and closer to calling my name. I look to my parents for a sign of help, but they are too interested in the ongoing ceremony.

"Ariana Lancaster."

Hearing my name wakes me into reality. I sit still for a second, almost all of the eyes of the Amity on me. I stand and try not to make it obvious that I'm shaking, but it only seems to be getting worse. I awkwardly walk over to the table at the front of the room, staring at the knife that will soon have my blood on it.

I pick up the knife, and I can already feel the pain of it against my skin. I turn my head away while I gently swipe the edge of the knife across my hand. I feel a sharp pain, but it is gone in seconds. I hold the blood in my hand and observe the five bowls- my five options. I know for sure not Candor or Abnegation. Maybe I could survive in Erudite, but theres no way I could leave my family and go against my test results, so I cross that off in my head. I stare at the two remaining bowls, the earth for Amity and lit coals for Dauntless.

I can feel almost everyone in the crowd getting impatient. I let my heart take control, and my hand drifts over to the Dauntless bowl, and before I can change my mind I feel the sizling of my blood against the hot coals.

_I am Dauntless, I am brave._

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**Thank you for reading! Chapter 4 coming eventually!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, here is the fourth chapter! I'm pretty proud of myself at how fast I finished this chapter, even if was like 3 days. Whatever, I tried. Also, I was rereading the last 3 chapters and I noticed that there was very little dialogue, so I apologize for that. I tried to include more dialogue in this chapter, and I think it turned out very good. With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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I stare at the blood that has fallen onto the fiery hot coals and let my actions sink in. I am officially Dauntless, and there is no changing that now. The Dauntless cheer while the most of the Amity gasp in shock. I feel like crying but nothing comes out. I exhale softly and quickly walk over the Dauntless, without even glancing at my parents. The last thing I want to see is the ones I love crying. I sit next to a raven-haired girl and a guy with a green fohawk, recieving multiple pats on the back and high fives. I try to forget about my decision and just focus on the ceremony, but my mind continues drifting off, feeling regret and happiness at the same time. Could I really survive as a Dauntless? I'm not sure, I guess I'll just have to find out, because there is no going back.

The raven-haired girl who sits next to me whispers in my ear, "I know it must be hard, leaving your family behind, but trust me, you will get through this." I nod in agreement without saying anything, considering I'm on the verge of tears, and the last thing I need is to seem weak to these people.

As the ceremony continues, there is one more Amity transfer- Savannah. I recogize her from school as well, though I never talk to her. Just like Carter, we are pretty much complete opposites. She's loud, and loves to argue and fight. Not really the normal Amity you would see every day, but now it makes sense that she is transfering to Dauntless. Even though we are completely different, we look very similar, both with blond hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and the same facial structure. The only obvious difference is that she is fairly taller and more curvier.

Her blood falls onto the coals, and she struts over to the Dauntless with an excited grin on her face. I wonder, how can she be so excited to leave her family behind? She cheers along with the Dauntless and finally calms down when they start announcing Candor names. That means that there is a total of three Amity transfers.

I watch the ceremony continue, watching all of the different people, the different personalities, decide their fate. There are four Candor transfers in total. A muscular guy with shaggy brown hair, named Tyson. A tall girl with flowing rose-colored hair tied up in a ponytail, named Scarlett. A athletically built guy with coal colored hair, whose named actually turned out to be Cole. And suprisingly, a scrawny black haired girl named Sarah, who looks like a 13 year old who should be in Amity.

Next up is the Dauntless, where quite a few people transfer. I guess Dauntless can be a little brutal sometimes. I watch all of them walk up to the table and choose their new home. I notice that all of them are dressed in black, and almost all of them have dyed hair and are covered in tattoos and piercings. I wonder if I'm going to have to completely change my appearence like them. Out of all of the Dauntless, there turn out to be 12 Dauntless born initiates in total, many of whom look like they could pummel me at any minute.

Then goes the last faction, Erudite. The first person to transfer to Dauntless, Zaine, looks suprisingly masculine for an Erudite. He has black hair with white streaks, and looks to be about a foot taller than me. Besides him, a brown haired boy named Evan that is average height and looks to be somewhat strong chooses Dauntless as well. The third and final Erudite transfer is a tall Hispanic girl named Cecelia.

Pretty soon the ceremony ends without warning, and people begin crowding out of the building. The Dauntless get up and half walk-half run to the door. Before exiting, a sneak a glance at my parents, their eyes red and puffy.

"I'm sorry," I mouth before practically being shoved out of the building.

Once out of the building, everyone ahead of me breaks into a full sprint towards the train tracks, and I know what's coming. I'm about to jump on a train.

I'm not the fastest person, but I'm ahead of some people as we make it to the train tracks just as an oncoming train gets closer and closer to us. We start running along the tracks just as all of the Dauntless-born jump on the train first, making it look easy. I keep sprinting along, trying to keep up with it. By now there are only a couple people who have not got on yet, and I think about my decision to choose Dauntless and how its about to end already. Pretty soon I will be nothing but a factionless women. The train almost pulls ahead and I am right next to last cart on the train. By now, everyone has climbed into the train except for me, even the wimpy looking Candor girl, Sarah. I am about to just give up when a hand reaches out of the cart and I see that it belongs to Leah, the twin from Abnegation.

"Grab on!" She yells, though I can barely hear her over the grinding of the train tracks.

I quickly reach out and grab it, and with my other, grab the handle on the side of the cart and practically hurl myself into the cart.

Once in the train, I lay on my side and inhale deeply. I finally sit up after I catch my breath and view all of the people in the cart with me. The two Abnegation twins, Savannah, and two Erudite transfers, Evan and Cecelia, I think her name was.

"Thank you," I tell Leah faintly. It's kind of embarrassing choosing Dauntless and almost becoming factionless before we even make it to the compound. Luckily there was an girl Abnegation to help me.

"No problem, I barely made it onto the train myself." She says, and smiles briefly at me.

"It's amazing how physically demanding Dauntless can be, even in in the first hour of initiation." Evan tells me, and I simply nod in agreement, still shocked at how fast and easy it is to become factionless.

We sit in silence for a moment, until I notice Savannah staring at me from the other side of the cart.

"What?" I ask, trying not to sound as rude as possible. It would be bad to make enemies on the first day.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just still suprised that you chose Dauntless. You were just so quiet at school, and you seem so.. peaceful." She says, and hesitates on the last word.

"Well, I'm pretty suprised with myself too. I guess I couldn't say the same for you though. " I respond, and she laughs at my comment.

"Yeah, I've been looking forward to leaving that wannabe perfect faction for years. And I've always loved Dauntless, especially the fighting. I don't mean to brag but.. I can really throw a punch." I ignore the bashing of my former faction and smile, for the first time in days it seems.

"You're right, Dauntless is definitely the faction for you."

Savannah is about to respond when Leo interrupts.

"Guys, I hate to break up your love fest, but I think this is our stop." He tells us.

The train remains at a steady speed and I walk over to the side of the train and see people in the front carts jumping onto a building a feet away from the train tracks. My heart beat immediantly increases. It was bad enough getting on the train, but now we have to jump off?

I look at everyone in the cart, their faces showing panic, except for Savannah, who actually looks excited.

"Are you insane? Were about to jump off a train thats like 50 feet above the ground!" I yell at her, but she just smirks.

"I've waited years for this." She responds, and grabs my hand as we get closer to the building. "Might as well jump together, right?"

I accept her gesture and grab hold of her hand. We close in on the building, and start counting down. "3..2..1.. Jump!"

We leap off of the side of the train and for a second I feel like were going to miss the building and fall to our death. But I feel my feet hit the roof of the building hard, and feel relief flow through me. We struggle to gain our balance and fall down after a few stumbles. We lay there for a second and then start laughing as we get up.

"That was great! Let's do it again!" Savannah shouts in excitement. For a moment I think she is crazy, but then I agree with her.

"Yeah.. It actually wasn't that bad." I'm suprised with myself and everyone that I have done so far. I just jumped off of a train. Maybe I am cut out for Dauntless, but I know it only gets harder from here.

We start laughing again but then stop when we hear gasps and screams rush through the Dauntless. I see everyone crowded around the edge of the building and make my way over there, and when I see what everyone else is seeing, my heart stops.

Many emotions rush through my body, and I feel like jumping off of the side of the building.

Laying on the groud 50 feet below I see a body, clearly not alive. Blood is splattered around the body and I can barely make out who it is. But then I see the fiery red hair, even more red from blood on it, and the faint sight of Abnegation gray clothing.

It's Leah. The girl who saved me from almost being factionless. She helped me when I was in need of help, and now she's _dead._

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**Thank you for reading! Chapter 5 coming whenever I post it.**


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